central - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Borrowed from Latin centrālis, from centrum (“centre”), from Ancient Greek κέντρον (kéntron); by surface analysis, centre +‎ -al.

central (comparative more central, superlative most central or centralmost or (UK) centremost or (US) centermost)

  1. Being in the centre.
    • 1814, William Wordsworth, “The Parsonage”, in The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth, volume V, London: Longman, published 1827, page 340:
      Egyption Thebes; / Tyre by the margin of the sounding waves; / Palmyra, central in the Desert, fell; / And the Arts died by which they had been raised.
    • 2013 July 27, “Putting down roots”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8846:
      The plantoid […] will have a central stem containing a reservoir of liquid plastic of a sort that can be frozen by ultraviolet light. Half a dozen cylindrical roots will branch off this stem, and the plastic will flow through these from the reservoir to the tip. As in a real root, the tip will be a specialised structure.
    • 2024 May 4, John Naughton, “The internet is in decline – it needs rewilding”, in The Guardian‎[1]:
      The network had no central ownership or controller; and it did only one thing – transfer data packets from one edge of the network to their destination at another edge.
  2. Having or containing the centre of something.
  3. Being very important, or key to something.
    Synonyms: dominant, main, principal
    • 2012 September 7, Phil McNulty, “Moldova 0-5 England”, in BBC Sport:
      Cleverley was a central figure as England took the lead inside three minutes. He saw his shot handled by Moldovan defender Simion Bulgaru and Lampard drilled home the penalty in trademark fashion.
    • 2020 May 6, Jim Steer, “Full Business Case offers fresh insight into HS2's prospects”, in Rail, page 51, photo caption:
      Passengers crowd in the main concourse at London Euston on January 28 2017, before boarding West Coast Main Line services. The urgent need to relieve congestion and improve reliability on the WCML remains central in the recently published Full Business Case for HS2.
  4. (anatomy) Exerting its action towards the peripheral organs.
  5. (algebra) Belong or relating to the center of an algebraic structure.
    1. Of an element of an algebraic structure: which commutes with all other elements under multiplication
    2. Of a unital algebra over a field: whose center is exactly equal to the image of the base field

being in the centre

being very important

Translations to be checked

central (plural centrals)

  1. (especially US) center

Borrowed from Latin centrālis.

central m or f (masculine and feminine plural centrals)

  1. central (being in the centre)

central f (plural centrals)

  1. nexus; headquarters (non-military); central office
    Synonym: seu (“seat or headquarters”)
    Antonym: sucursal (“branch office”)
    Hyponyms: central telefònica, central telegràfica
  2. (electricity) power plant
    Hyponyms: central elèctrica; central eòlica; central fotovoltaica; central geotèrmica; central heliotèrmica, central heliotermodinàmica; central hidràulica, central hidroelèctrica; central hidrotèrmica; central mareomotriu; central nuclear; central solar; central tèrmica, central termoelèctrica

Borrowed from Latin centralis.

central c (singular definite centralen, plural indefinite centraler)

  1. headquarters, place whence organizations are administrated

central

  1. central, being in the centre

Inflection of central

| | positive | comparative | superlative | | | -------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | ----------- | -- | | indefinite common singular | central | — | —2 | | indefinite neuter singular | centralt | — | —2 | | plural | centrale | — | —2 | | definite attributive1 | centrale | — | — |

1 When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite,
the corresponding "indefinite" form is used.
2 The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively.

Borrowed from Latin centrālis. By surface analysis, centre +‎ -al.

central (feminine centrale, masculine plural centraux, feminine plural centrales)

  1. central
    Antonym: périphérique

Learned borrowing from Latin centrālis.

central m or f (plural centrais)

  1. central

Borrowed from Latin centrālis.

central m (feminine singular centrala, masculine plural centrals, feminine plural centralas)

  1. central

Borrowed from Latin centrālis. By surface analysis, centro +‎ -al.

central m or f (plural centrais)

  1. central

central f (plural centrais)

  1. centre
  2. headquarters

central m or f by sense (plural centrais)

  1. (Portugal, soccer) back (player in a position behind most players on the team)

Borrowed from French central, Latin centrālis. By surface analysis, centru +‎ -al.

central m or n (feminine singular centrală, masculine plural centrali, feminine/neuter plural centrale)

  1. central, pivotal, nodal

Borrowed from Latin centrālis.

central m or f (masculine and feminine plural centrales)

  1. central

central f (plural centrales)

  1. headquarter
  2. center
  3. power station
    Synonym: centra eléctrica

central m or (Cuba) f (plural centrales)

  1. (Nicaragua, Panama, Dominican Republic, Cuba) a sugar mill

central m (plural centrales)

  1. (soccer) centre-back

Borrowed from Latin centrālis, from centrum (“center point”) +‎ -ālis.

central

  1. central, centralized, situated at the centre (of a town)
  2. central, important

Clipping of centralstation, or any other compound of the adjective.

central c

  1. a central, a centre, a central station, a junction, a connection point, an electrical switchboard